The teleportation ended without ceremony.
One moment I was standing alone in a desert, talking to Shinrun.
And than poof.
The next, I was standing on polished stone floors beneath a ceiling so high it felt like the sky itself had been carved into a palace.
Master Zuno's mansion.
It was exactly as I remembered from lore, and still somehow stranger in person. Massive white pillars curved upward like frozen waves. The air was cool, pristine, and unnervingly still, like the entire place existed outside the flow of normal time i think, it was creepy.
And at the center of it all, reclining comfortably as if omniscience were just a hobby…the man?...woman?....thing..?
Master Zuno.
He turned his head slowly, his eyebrows lifting the moment he sensed me.
"…Oh?" he said calmly. "A visitor."
I swallowed.
This was the being who knew everything. The keeper of secrets even gods respected. If he wanted to, he could tell the gods on me, for what i am about to ask.
And yet, he looked… bored..?
"Before you ask your question," Zuno continued lazily, "you must offer a gift."
I blinked.
"A gift?"
He nodded. "That is the rule."
I thought quickly.
Money was meaningless here. Objects held no value to someone who knew the future of every object that ever existed, except one thing.
I signed, as i walked forward.
Slowly.
Zuno watched, curious.
I leaned in and kissed his cheek, no homo.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Completely silent.
For a full second.
This was torcher.
"You are a young male human," he said slowly.
"Yes," I replied.
"…Interesting."
'EWWWW', as i kept it inside.
He leaned back, resting his chin on his hand.
"As such," he continued, "I shall allow you one question."
I exhaled quietly.
"Thank you."
...
There was no time to waste.
I pulled out my pen and paper immediately. Not because Zuno required it, but because some knowledge is too important to trust to memory alone.
"I want to know," I said carefully, "how to obtain god ki through training."
Zuno's eyebrow rose.
Just slightly.
That alone told me how dangerous the question was.
"the fact your asking me, means," he noted. "Are you trying to take on the Destoryer god's place...?."
"I want the god ki," I replied. "i don't want to be a god, in any shape or form."
Zuno studied me for a long moment.
Then he spoke.
"God ki," Zuno began, "so be it than, i shall start."
As Zuno started explaining.
I wrote furiously.
He explained that god ki could not be sensed normally because it did not bleed into the environment. It was not louder. It was quieter. Denser. Like a star compressed into a point.
He spoke of control so precise that energy never escaped unintentionally. Of breathing that synchronized thought, motion, and intent.
He explained that Mortals struggled because of emotion-driven power spikes,rage, sadness, desperation. Mortals struggled because of doubt and limitation.
"And finnally to wield god ki," Zuno said, "you must become calm without becoming empty."
I filled pages, of the good stuff.
When he finished, my hand was cramped, my head spinning.
"…That is all," Zuno concluded.
I stood.
Placed the pen away.
Then bowed deeply, lower than etiquette required.
"Thank you," I said sincerely.
Zuno watched me go, a faint, amused smile touching his lips.
...
I placed two fingers to my forehead.
Focused.
Found Goku's ki easily, bright, warm, unmistakable.
And vanished.
I reappeared in a kitchen.
Mid-conversation.
-and then Grampa Gohan said"
Pop.
Goku froze mid-bite, a bowl of rice halfway to his mouth.
Gohan blinked.
Chi-Chi screamed.
"AHHHHH—!"
"I'm looking for Goku," I said quickly. "To train."
Total lie.
Complete bullshit lie.
Goku relaxed immediately. "Oh! Hey Ben!"
Chi-Chi stared at me like I'd just crawled out of a dark dirty corner.
"You cannot just appear in my kitchen!"
"Sorry," I said. "Bad Habit."
Gohan smiled politely. "Hi, Ben."
"Howdy, kid." i said.
Goku scratched his head. "Uh, I'm kinda in the middle of lunch."
"I'll wait," I said.
Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes. "You, Eat, Now."
And just like that, I was seated.
The food was simple.
Rice. Fish. Vegetables.
Just a good family meal.
....i think i miss home.
Goku ate like he always did, fast and happily. Gohan talked about school as Chi-Chi listened, with her eyes shining.
I didn't tell them about god ki.
That's my little secrect.
And I needed a more time, to learn it.
Ben's power level: 210,800
Author: i didn't make up Master Zanu, he is found in dragon ball super, and how the gang found out about, the super dragon balls, and it's key words to summon the golden dragon.